Richmond students honored for high ranks on national exams

Asha Iyer and Micaela Wibberly have three things in common- they're both 14 years old, heading into 9th grade, and they know a thing or two about foreign languages.

"Languages have always been fun for me. I've learned maybe four languages throughout schooling," said Iyer.

Asha, along with Micaela, seem to have mastered at least two of them- Latin and Spanish.

Both young ladies are part of a group of students at Richmond Montessori School who recently received recognition for their high scores on the national Latin and Spanish exams.

In fact, Micaela earned a perfect score on the Spanish exam, which she took back in April.

Every student at Richmond Montessori who took the Latin and Spanish exams received either a summa, maxima, or magna cum laude certificate. It is not common for a school to have 100-percent of its students earn such distinctions.

Head of school Susanne Gregory says it just shows that the students are really mastering content, and they are dedicated to doing it.

"It's an optional thing for eighth graders who choose to take Latin. They're making a commitment of time that requires energy on their own part, time and energy on their own. The class meets one hour a week," said Gregory.

It is a sacrifice that has now paid off, and the students are quite proud.

"Proud of all of our work that we put in. I know that we're all really dedicated to the language," said Wibberly.

When it comes to Latin, Asha offers a little advice.

"All middle school students or above should take at least Latin 1 because it's really interesting and you learn a lot more with it," said Iyer.

More than 300,000 students took the national Latin and Spanish exams this year.